Do young adult classics need a tech update?

I read a few weeks ago about Scholastic's idea to re-issue one of my favorite all-time book series: The Baby-Sitters Club.  At first I was excited to see new life breathed into the teen tales of Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia and Stacey.  There were few fans of BSC greater than I was.  I had the board game, the Super Specials, and the guide to baby-sitting (which I remembered had nothing on CPR but inane tips on how to feed kids such as sticking a straw into an orange!).   It was a cornerstone of my childhood and tween years, living through these Connecticut girls as they traveled the difficulty of balancing business and personal lives. 

Then I read this quote:

Editors at Scholastic updated some of the references to technology and outdated fashions in the reissued books. So a “cassette player” has become “headphones” and a “perm” has become “an expensive hairstyle.”

I'm really afraid of what this will do to this series and the kind of precendent it sets for other Young Adult books. Will Kristy no longer need to host babysitting meetings in Claudia's room, instead opting for a conference call or virtual assistant?  Will there be much fervor when Mary Anne sends Logan a racy text message?  Mallory bursting into tears because of the results of a Facebook poll? 

It's true that there's so much more of a fight for teen interest now since crazy fads like vampiric love angst and vapid prep school woes have saturated the YA market.  But will these changes adversely color the fabric of young adult literature?

Can you imagine Harriet the Spy writing her biting commentary on a blog?  The brother and sister in the book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler being discovered early on thanks to closed-circuit security cameras and a fervent Amber Alert?  Will Judy Blume have to amend the title to, "Are You There God, It's Me Margaret.  Sorry I Haven't Called You Back.  I'm Out of Minutes." 

I would rather see the Baby-Sitters Club deal with issues rather than cosmetic changes.  There were wonderful books that just grazed the surface of complex dilemmas like when Claudia's grandmother had a stroke, Mallory's dad was laid off, or when Mary Anne babysat a child with autism.  Changing Stacey's walkman to an iPod, or noting that Claudia hid snacks that were trans-fat free seems more superficial and damaging to a series that I still hold dearly. 

What do you think?  Are these tech changes warranted to appeal to a younger more tech-savvy audience? 

Mona blogs at kirida dot com.  She wants a hollowed-out book filled with candy.  Don't take that from her.